Cubs prospect's disappointing season guarantees team will need to trade for bench help

Besides the starting rotation — which got a huge boost with the return of Shota Imanaga from the injured list — ask any fan what the biggest need for the Chicago Cubs is heading into the trade deadline, and they'll tell you one thing: the team needs somebody, anybody, who can hit the ball while accepting a primary role on the bench.

It's no secret that the team is looking for upgrades over their current reserves. Vidal Bruján has been 87% worse than the league-average hitter according to wRC+. Jon Berti has a sub-.500 OPS. Justin Turner swings practically the slowest bat in baseball.

Normally when a team has a need on the bench, they'll call up a prospect already on the 40-man roster to get some playing time in the big leagues. The Cubs have quite a few of those guys in need of MLB reps — Moises Ballesteros, Kevin Alcantara, and Owen Caissie fit the bill — but their biggest need remains on the infield dirt, and in that case, only one player in Triple-A is already on the roster: Ben Cowles.

Acquired at last year's trade deadline (alongside fellow Cubs prospect Jack Neely) for Mark Leiter Jr., Cowles was somewhat surprisingly selected to the 40-man roster over the offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. Unfortunately for the team, he's been a disaster at the plate in June and looks nowhere near ready for big league action.

Ben Cowles' struggles could necessitate Cubs trade for bench help

Now, this isn't to say the Cubs went into this season banking on Cowles to emerge as a top-flight prospect who would force their hand for a spot on the 26-man roster.

However, he crushed Double-A pitching with the Yankees last year (.848 OPS) prior to being acquired by the Cubs, and an aggressive assignment to Iowa this year — despite suffering a serious wrist injury after the trade — suggested Chicago wanted to fast-track his development.

Unfortunately, Cowles has yet to rediscover his stroke with the Cubs, as he's slashing .215/.276/.333 in 70 games this year. To make matters worse, the wheels have really fallen off this month, as Cowles has a .455 OPS and 18 wRC+ in June. Plus, his strikeout rate is all the way up to 26.9%.

He's never been a big power threat, but Cowles has always been a solid gap-to-gap hitter with a patient approach at the plate. That's all but disintegrated against Triple-A competition, as his 6.1% walk rate is by far the lowest of his professional career.

In effect, what this means for the Cubs is that their answer to their bench problem, specifically in regard to their search for a productive backup infielder, probably isn't going to come from an internal source.

Cowles is a versatile defender who can play shortstop, third and second base, but his bat clearly isn't ready. Jonathon Long is hitting well but is really only suited for first base duties at the MLB level. Chase Strumpf can play a few different positions, but someone would have to get booted from the 40-man roster to facilitate his debut.

As such, you can expect the Cubs to look outside the organization for a bench upgrade. Perhaps the Royals could be a good trade partner?